I Love You Like This
by RinPlus
Summary: Tsukishima has always been a bit cold and distant, but Yamaguchi has always understood him. What will happen when these two opposites start to clash more than usual? Tsukishima Kei x Yamaguchi Tadashi, rated T for mild swearing.


"'Please leave me alone,'

I'd say, hoping someone would,

Just once, not listen"

-E.S., Haiku

"TSUKKI!" A voice shouted from behind him. He could hear footsteps thudding carelessly on the concrete toward him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Tsukki! I thought I would miss you walking to school!" The voice, of course, was from Yamaguchi, the precious freckled cinnamon bun too pure for this earth a boy with dark green cowlicked hair, and light freckles painted over his cheeks. He had been Tsukishima's best friend since elementary school, and was now bent over with his hands on his knees, breathless from running to catch up.

"Idiot" Tsukishima muttered. "You always follow me to school."

Yamaguchi's dark eyes shimmered as his puppy like smile faded to a guilt stricken frown. "Gomen, Tsukki!" He nearly bowed in the presence of the blonde haired boy.

Tsukishima tisked and adjusted the rim of his glasses. "Whatever, let's just go."

Xxx

"Tsukki?" Tsukishima looked up suddenly. Yamaguchi was leaning over his desk with his head cocked slightly. "I asked if I could borrow a pencil, but you weren't paying attention."

Tsukishima sighed and reached into his bag. "Here" he said coldly, jerking the silver mechanical pencil toward him. "Could you learn to bring your own supplies, baka?"

Tsukishima started to zone out as a faint "Gomen, Tsukki!" faded into the background noise. He closed his hazel eyes and then reopened them again with a blank gaze. His eyes found their way to Yamaguchi's back, watching how the fabric of his black uniform folded tightly around his slender shoulders when he began to write. His lips pouted in concentration as he erased the date he wrote incorrectly, and when he leaned over, his hair draped across his freckled face.

Tsukishima shook his head and his blonde hair tousled over his forehead. _I really need to stop zoning out in class_ he thought to himself. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes with his palms, willing himself to focus.

xxx

Tsukishima was feeling out of sorts. He was normally quite sensible and level-headed, but lately he was having trouble focusing. The crass boy was lashing out at people even more than usual.

_Thud_. A volleyball landed directly in front of his feet.

"Hey asshole!" A livid Kageyama screamed "I said I was tossing to you!" Tsukishima blinked a few times until he realized he was at volleyball practice, and was zoning out again. The setter began walking towards Tsukishima as Hinata and Yamaguchi welped from behind him, sensing the impending doom of Kageyama vs. Tsukishima.

Once he came to his senses, Tsukishima started walking towards him. "Shut up, King" he spit. He was now face to face with his teammate. Kageyama was about to retort when Daichi suddenly grabbed them both by the collars and pulled them to the sidelines. Tsukishima listened to the drone of his lecture about teamwork and maturity and not being complete assholes, but really came back to Earth when his captain told them they'd be staying after late alternating days for a week to clean up. His turn would be beginning today.

_Great_ he thought to himself. He was having trouble focusing in school, and now he'd have to stay later than expected. Before Tsukishima could get another word in with Kageyama, everyone started to clear the gym. He sighed and grabbed a mop. He heard a voice behind him,

"Tsukki! I'll help you clean up!" a radiant Yamaguchi grinned as he latched onto Tsukishima's arm. Tsukishima looked down in surprise and felt his smooth porcelain hands entwined around his bicep.

"Yamaguchi, get off of me" he brushed him away icily and handed him the mop. "Make yourself useful if you insist on waiting for me."

Yamaguchi nodded and pranced across the gymnasium floor humming some god awful pop song Tsukishima heard on the radio often. Tsukishima rubbed his shoulder and pushed his glasses up unto the bridge of his nose. As soon as they finished clean up, the two friends started walking back to their houses which were in nearly the same neighborhood. Yamaguchi's house was closest to school, and he waved goodbye chirping "Good night, Tsukki!" Tsukishima grunted and gave a half-hearted parting salute. Yamaguchi walked up the stone pathway, his black shorts making a slight swishing noise as his legs chaffed against each other. Tsukishima remembered that Kiyoko ordered him a size too small, and the dark fabric was very tight and short, riding up in the back as he moved his legs.

Tsukishima's face suddenly felt very hot. _I must be really sick_ he thought to himself. He put on his headphones and walked the remaining few minutes to his house.

Xxx

He woke up Saturday morning laced in sweat. He had been tossing and turning the entire night, and only got a few hours of sleep. His phone vibrated from the bedside table. He groaned, squinting his eyes, and rubbed his palm on his head until he finally rolled over.

_Text from Yamaguchi Tadashi_: Good morning! There's a new movie coming out that sounds really good ^.^ Want to go see it today?

Tsukishima could only guess what asinine animated film his friend wanted to see as he grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and stretched. But, he had nothing else to do, so as his eyes adjusted to the light of the morning he texted him back.

Tsukishima met Yamaguchi outside his house, and they started walking to the cinema. Yamaguchi began to explain the basic plotline of the film, and although Tsukishima resented to admit it, it almost sounded enjoyable. They purchased the tickets and the green haired boy pleaded for soggy fries, to which Tsukishima refused. But the boy kept whining until Tsukishima compromised and bought a large popcorn instead.

They picked two seats in the rear of the house. The opening credits rolled in, and Yamaguchi's eyes lit up, illuminated by the screen's brightness. Tsukishima tsked to himself, and moodily jabbed for a handful of popcorn.

His fist was unexpectedly met by another soft pair of hands. He looked down and saw that it was Yamaguchi's slender ivory fingers. And he wasn't just touching them, his hand had somehow ended up intertwined between them within the popcorn bucket. Tsukishima's eyes panned up to his face in panic: Yamaguchi looked back with a blank expression. Then his freckles crunched, eyes lifted, and he smiled. "Gomen, Tsukki!" he somehow loudly whispered.

Tsukishima suddenly realized his hand was frozen. He quickly snapped out of his trance and pulled away from the bucket, popcorn flinging in all directions, and grumbled something unintelligible in response, turning the opposite way until he was practically in the fetal position. He could feel blush climbing up his face.

_What the hell was that?_ He couldn't help but think to himself. But he couldn't get that image of his little hand… Or his face. Those rosy cheeks and light brown freckles that looked like the patter of rain on a windowsill. His gentle eyes. He _was_ pretty cute…

_Cute!? _Tsukishima sunk further into the cushioned seat in discomfort. He wanted to hide his face. Did he actually call his best friend _cute?_ Could he actually think of someone, a boy no less, as attractive? Tsukishima tried to ignore the tragedy that just transpired. He forced himself to glue his eyes to the screen. But, he couldn't help but feel an itch. Did he_ want_ to touch Yamaguchi's hand? _No no no_ he shook his head. But he had to have a peek. He turned his head slightly and was faced with Yamaguchi's popcorn stuffed face looking back at him, while he made loud munching noises.

Tsukishima almost let out a shriek. _Screw his stupid face, screw his freckles, screw his dumb ass cowlick_. He turned around and crossed him arms, having to wait out the remainder of the film in silence.

Xxx

The next day Yamaguchi texted him if he wanted to come over to study. He promptly said no. On Monday, he left his house a half an hour early to avoid having to walk together. When Yamaguchi asked why, he said he had to come in for extra help. When he told him he had his pencil that he borrowed, he quickly snatched it back and looked towards the opposite corner of the room. At lunch, he ate in the locker room. At practice, he worked on his spikes with Kageyama instead.

Tuesday came. He repeated the same avoidance techniques. Everything was fine until practice ended. Daichi shouted from across the gym, "Tsukishima, remember, it's your turn to clean up!" _Shit._

He lethargically moved towards the supply closet to grab a broom. Yamaguchi followed behind him. "Tsukki, are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes" Tsukishima answered dully, stepping out of Yamaguchi's way as he grabbed a mop from a trash barrel. Tsukishima started to walk out of the room back towards the gymnasium when he noticed Yamaguchi standing still in the corner of the room. Tsukishima turned back around to look closer. His friend's face looked inconsolable.

"Do you hate me?" Yamaguchi asked abruptly and seriously, looking up towards him. "You've been ignoring me. I mean you're usually mean—I mean, you're not mean! You're just— umm, don't get mad!" Yamaguchi then put his hands out defensively, and Tsukishima couldn't help but smirk a little at his flustered clumsiness.

Tsukishima paused thinking a moment about just leaving, but decided he should put the broom down and walk over to him. "Yamaguchi, of course I don't hate you" he said sincerely. The green haired boy puffed out a little sigh of relief.

Tsukishima clamped his teeth tight and breathed in sharply through his nose. He then looked his friend in the eyes. "Yamaguchi, I love you."

At first there was silence, but then Yamaguchi let out a sigh of relief again as his face was returned to its normal expression. "Good Tsukki, I really thought you were mad at me or something! I love you too!"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and looked away momentarily. _What a completely clueless idiot_. "No Yamaguchi, you don't understand" he started again as he took a step closer. Yamaguchi looked up with a parted lip. The bespectacled boy grabbed his wrist and pushed the rest of his body against the wall. He closed his eyes and smelled in his scent. The fragrance reminded him of walking past a lake in the first few days of summer: crystalline and sharp, but comforting. He looked down with heavily lidded eyes and felt Yamaguchi's still raised hand caught in his greedy talons, and saw his chest puff in and out quickly and his heart beat bounced against his body.

"I don't love you the way you love me." Tsukishima breathed as he touched his soft freckled cheek lightly with his fingertips. "I love you like this—"

He reached in suddenly and their lips met. He had never felt anything so soft, so supple to the touch. He pulled back slightly and then met them again, this time slowly sucking on his lips. He dropped Yamaguchi's hand and to his surprise, it found its way to his back and clung on to his shirt tightly, making him open his eyes in surprise and then slowly close then again. Tsukishima moaned quietly, and started to run his hands through his smooth hair. He went in for one last taste before pulling away and putting his forehead on Yamaguchi's own head. They stood absolutely still embracing, while only the sound of their heavy breathing filled the room.

"Do you understand now?" He whispered between pants. "I love you, Tadashi."

Yamaguchi squeezed tighter with his slender hands on his jacket, and tucked his head against Tsukishima's chest. Although Tsukishima couldn't see, Yamaguchi's eyes watered slightly over his blushed cheeks, as he quietly muffled into his chest, "I love you like that too."


End file.
